WVTK Local & State News December 28, 2011

Vermont State Police are investigating a Burglary which took place in the Town of Monkton. Unknown individual(s) forced entry into a secured camp and pump house located at a camp. The unknown individual(s) damaged two hasps while breaking into the camp which are valued at approximately $15. Nothing was stolen from the camp. It is suspected the individual(s) who entered the camp where possibly looking for copper pipe as cabinets in the kitchen near the kitchen sink were left open. The pump house was also entered which contains piping as well. There was plastic piping in the camp and not copper pipe. Anyone with information or leads is asked to contact VSP New Haven at 1-802-388-4919

Drivers in New York will have to abide by a new law. Changes to New York's "Move Over Law" will take effect. Right now, state law requires drivers to shift lanes if at all possible when approaching flashing police lights. The law is now being expanded to also include tow trucks and other emergency vehicles. Drivers that fail to change lanes can face hefty fines.

In 2011. The state lost lawmakers. One was Richard Mallary, who had a 60-year career in public service, including a stint as a U.S. representative from Vermont during the Watergate era. John Murphy of Ludlow served 30 years in the Vermont Legislature until stepping down in 1998. Helen Stafford, widow of former U.S. Sen. Robert Stafford, R-Vt., died in February. Vermont lost several media figures. Stuart Hall, the warm, friendly weather forecaster for Channel 3 from 1954 to 1990, died in September at age 90. John Curran, the versatile Associated Press reporter and bureau chief, died in September at age 54. The state also lost artists. The eminent American poet and former Vermont poet laureate Ruth Stone of Goshen died in November. George Tooker, known for his haunting and luminous paintings, died in April. Free spirit Poppa Neutrino, an adventurer and environmentalist, died in January.

Police are investigating the theft of a diamond ring from a jewelry store at the Burlington Town Center. Police say a man asked to see the ring yesterday at the Zales Jewelry store, then took the ring and ran off. The ring is valued at about $3,200.

A sex offender who was granted probation last week after reaching a plea deal must stay in jail because he doesn't have an acceptable place to live. Scott French was deemed to be at high risk to commit another crime. He has until January 27th to find a place to live.

An incident at the Rutland jail last March involving an inmate who was held naked in a cell for more than two hours prompted an internal investigation by the Department of Corrections and a lawsuit by the former inmate who is seeking at least $200,000 in damages. State officials at the jail and Department of Corrections Commissioner Andrew Pallito have declined to comment on the incident due to the lawsuit filed in Rutland civil court. Incarcerating an inmate without clothing isn’t expressly prohibited under DOC policy. But removing their clothing as a form of punishment is off limits. “At no time will inmates be deprived of clothing ... as a means of punishment,” the DOC policy relating to custody and security in a correctional facility states. Correspondence between the jail’s perintendent and the state’s director of correctional facilities, William Lawhorn, suggest there were concerns about the incident at the highest level. In an email Lawhorn sent to Superintendent Phillip Fernandez in April, the director said he had a number of concerns. “He was made to stay in a cell naked for several hours.” Was this punishment? What is the justification and where is the documentation? The on-coming shift supervisor returned his clothing, so it appears as though there was not a justification for removing the clothes.” Lawhorn’s email also included an order for more information about who was involved, what was documented and “what you are doing so that it never happens again.”


The administration of Gov. Peter Shumlin is scrambling to come up with a plan by early January to attack what it openly acknowledges is a prescription opiate abuse problem of epidemic proportions in the state. “It’s grown so fast it’s like you’re in a tidal wave,” Shumlin’s aide Susan Bartlett said in an interview last week, speaking of the substantial addiction levels and how to confront them. “We just want to make sure we can pull something together that will work. It needs to be real.” A new Health Department memo prepared for the state Legislature’s Corrections Oversight Committee and made public offered a fresh look at the dimensions of the problem. According to the memo, 5,900 Vermonters received out-patient treatment for substance abuse problems in the last year, many of them people addicted to prescription opiates. More than half were people who were in the custody of the state’s Corrections Department. In addition, the memo said 127 people were on waiting lists for residential treatment programs and another 445 were on waiting lists at the state’s only two methadone clinics, in Burlington and St. Johnsbury.


Mohawk Valley GIS, creators of the NYSnowmobileWebMap.com interactive trail map and trip planner website, has just released a trail app for Android smart phone users. The iPhone version is currently in beta test and will be available shortly. The app features trail coverage for 45 counties in New York. Trails, intersections, sponsoring businesses and current GPS location’s all display without reception. Choice of street view, satellite or hybrid background maps display with reception. Users can create a route before heading out or check the mileage of any trail segment. Most importantly, riders can feel safe in unfamiliar terrain knowing that their GPS location and the trails and intersections will always display regardless of tower reception. Route creation and trail mileage checks will work regardless of reception availability also. The project is now in its third year. Snowmobile clubs can benefit from the new profit-sharing model, introduced for this season, along with numerous other new web map offerings. Complete details and screenshots for the Snowmobiling New York State app are available on the NYSnowmobileWebMap.com website, along with contact information for questions or to suggest new features.

Firefighters say a construction worker saved a Burlington family from an early morning blaze. The fire broke out yesterday at a home on Caroline Street in the city's south end. It is the home of UVM head basketball coach John Becker. A construction worker doing a project nearby noticed the flames on the back porch and began banging on the door until the family woke up. Fire investigators say fireplace ash disposed of in a paper bag sparked the blaze. Firefighters knocked down the flames before the blaze had a chance to damage too much of the home. "The porch was full of paper product and had that tenant opened the door they would have introduced themselves to huge plume of fire and smoke, and we know from experience that would have been of tragic consequence," Burlington Fire Marshal Terry Francis said. Fire officials say wood ash can burn for up to three days. They remind folks that it should be disposed of in a metal container with a secure lid far from the house.


The Vermont Senate may take the first step this coming session to change the state constitution to allow candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to win if they get the most votes, not necessarily a majority as the constitution currently requires.
The governor's and lieutenant governor's races in the 2010 elections were decided by the Legislature because the front runners did not win a majority vote, only a plurality. The Senate is expected to consider the proposed amendment, which also would extend the terms of statewide elected officials from two to four years. It's hard to amend the Vermont Constitution. The measure must pass the 30-member Senate with 20 votes, then pass the House by a majority. In the next legislative session, it must be approved by majorities in each chamber. It then goes to voters for their decision.

A new pain killer has drug abuse experts worried. Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of the nation's second most-abused medicine. That has addiction experts worried that it could spur a new wave of abuse. The new pills contain the addictive painkiller hydrocodone. They pack up to 10 times the amount of the drug as medications such as Vicodin. If approved, it would mark the first time patients could legally buy pure hydrocodone. Existing products combine the drug with non addictive painkillers. Critics say abusers might crush the pills to get high. That's exactly what people do with oxycodone, which is the most-abused medicine in the U.S. The pharmaceutical firms say the new drugs give doctors another tool to help patients manage pain. The companies also say patients will be more closely supervised.


CVPS announced a $10,000 company donation and $100,000 in matching funds for CVPS Shareheat, a last-resort program that provides emergency fuel assistance to hundreds of Vermont families each year. “With federal cutbacks in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Shareheat will be more important than ever this winter,” CVPS spokesman Steve Costello said. “As a result, CVPS is making a special $10,000 donation to Shareheat, in addition to a pledge of $100,000 in funds to match customer contributions dollar for dollar.” The $10,000 grant will be divided and paid immediately to five community action agencies that administer Shareheat funds, with the $100,000 going out as customer contributions are received and matched this winter. Donations may be mailed with a CVPS payment, or sent separately to CVPS Shareheat, 77 Grove St., Rutland, VT 05701. Vermonters who need help with a winter heating crisis should contact their local community action agency for assistance.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says New Yorkers are living longer than ever. The mayor detailed new health stats on Tuesday showing babies born in the city in 2009 have a record-high life expectancy of 80.6 years. That's an increase of 3 years since 2000 and 2½ years better than the most recently reported national average. Bloomberg and health care officials announced the figures in a maternity ward Hospital. They said anti-smoking initiatives and HIV prevention programs are helping city residents live longer. The officials said drug-related deaths and the infant mortality rate also have fallen.